The Great Green Hill Far Away

Because It's There....
George Mallory

   From my bedroom window, I can see City Hall, St. Mary's Cathedral, and the docks of Hunter's Point. But the thing that always caught my eye was an incongruous green hill with several trees on top-like hair on a doll that sticks straight up, making it look surprised. I had absolutely no idea what or where this hill was; and it was driving me slightly crazy. Until the obvious hit: I should just walk over and find out.

  Now some of you will ask why I didn't google it. But some of you are not very romantic: because really, what could be finer than a long, slow walk ending in a mystery solved?

  We know a surprising amount of people whose lives were changed, saved actually, by very (very) long walks. A Swiss friend found himself deciding between suicide and walking home from Zurich to Zug- a distance of 30k. I'm not kidding; he told Thomas it was more or less a flip of a coin situation. So rather than kill himself, he did the next closest thing- he turned into a long distance runner. He is now alive and well, with a rather good resting heart beat. Another suffered from debilitating depression after his father died and that's all he does- walk; no meds, just walking. He is this insanely attractive, tortured soul....so totally my type. But he was close to bat shit hanging by a thread crazy, and I mean that as a compliment. At dinner with him, he would focus so hard on what you were saying...as if you were spitting pearls of wisdom and wit. Even when you were talking to someone else, and thought he was too..he would fearlessly interject a little sentence into your conversation: "The capital of Angola is actually Luanda.", and turn his back again. It was intoxicating.
  Of course a man that listens like that is definitely a mutant of some sort, so walk he must. Walking keeps him upright- literally and figuratively; and the pain in his feet eases the pain in his heart.

  Anyway, Thomas accepted my invitation on a Wednesday afternoon without hesitation, even though Thomas "hesitates" at plenty of my invitations. But he rustled up the dog and some water. En route we were sort of giddy. Whenever we lost sight of the hill, we would alternatively laugh and worry (was it a mirage??); then we would cheer when we found it again. Like most distant hills- be they in Tibet or San Francisco-it is farther away then you think, and steeper than you hope. But! But! it was as good a result as I could have hoped for- a secret and a surprise and a Hershey's kiss all together in the palm of your hand. I am tempted to not tell you what it is, but make you walk there yourself. 

   Ok fine...be that way. Below is the map with our route. The hill is called Bernal Hill and for the really lazy among you (you know who you are) here is a section from the website that does a better job describing it than I could. But you really need to walk there. Amy- you could dash over to the Taqueria after! Oh! did I mention there are two enormous grown up swings that fly you out over the city? 

  Anyway, the next time a little green hill beckons you -any green hill-......for God's sake, go. 

  
  Am leaving in a few hours for our walk to Stinson. So excited..The first bruschetta will be served at 5 pm at 307 Seadrift Road. All welcome...well, all who walk there. I will try to post photos along the way-we are taking a slightly longer route: from Sausalito to Pelican Inn, and then to the Dipsea. If you don't hear from us tonight, get some food and wine and come find us.
xx

   

From the Bernal Hill Website. (How I love the person who wrote this-a true romantic) 

  "Bernal Hill provides visitors with a breathtaking 360-degree panorama and clear views of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown, San Bruno Mountain, and the hills of the East Bay. These windswept slopes are still sunny when Twin Peaks is shrouded in afternoon fog. Red-tailed hawks soar overhead, the breeze sends waves undulating through the native grassland community, and visitors hike around the hill’s peaceful summit to escape from the complexities of urban life. As one of the few remaining natural refuges in San Francisco, Bernal Hill is a special place for the city’s human and wildlife inhabitants.

One of the most dramatic tales of Bernal Hill took place in May of 1876. The Bernal Heights community caught the California gold rush fever after Frenchman Victor Resayre announced his discovery of gold on the Bernal summit, ore that he claimed would fetch $1 million per ton. For several days the hill was the site of extensive mining efforts, until it was revealed that the original discovery consisted of the considerably less valuable quartz.

 Bernal Hill’s steep slopes support a thriving grassland community, suggesting how much of the northern San Francisco peninsula might have looked 250 years ago. In the summer and fall its grasslands are dry and parched, and Bernal appears from a distance to be a tawny, uninhabitable monolith. The native grasses and wildflowers have dropped their seeds, which wait patiently in the soil for the winter rains to awaken them. By early February, the hill is transformed into a palette of brilliant colors as a multitude of native wildflowers bloom, including footsteps of spring, sun cup, blue-eyed grass, checkerbloom, and shooting star. Native purple needlegrass and red fescue blow in waves from the almost constant ocean breeze."